April 04, 2012

Irving _ Add cornerback Stephen Gilmore, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and guard Cordy Glenn to the list of players who have visited the Cowboys the past three days for pre-draft visits.

The group joins offensive lineman Ron Leary cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, linebacker Courtney Upshaw and safety Mark Barron among the known visitors and prime candidates for picks at 14 or in a trade down scenario in the first round.

The Cowboys are allowed up 30 pre-draft visits from national prospects heading into the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft.

The Cowboys did not bring in defensive tackle Dontari Poe as expected. According to a team source, the Cowboys “like him a lot but don’t want to draw attention to him.”

Considering this is the age of the misinformation season, take that with a grain of salt. While it is keeping with comments made by owner Jerry Jones last week that the Cowboys are very impressed with Poe, it is contrary to how they have operated the past six seasons.

Since 2006, the first player picked by the Cowboys has come to the team’s Valley Ranch headquarters for a pre-draft visit.

Of course, the last time it didn’t happen was in 2005 when they selected linebacker DeMarcus Ware _ a decision that has turned out quite nicely.

Stanford guard David Decastro, a popular pick for the Cowboys at 14, was also not brought in to visit. He is rising fast up draft boards and is expected to be gone by the time the Cowboys pick.

The Cowboys will begin hosting local prospects for a Dallas Day workouts on Thursday and Friday. These are players who played in high school or college in the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex.